One Wish
by Sky of Darkness 64
Summary: He wanted to be the one who could make Hermione smile brightly, the one who could make Hermione jumped in joy about something and the one who could love her more than anything else. These were the things Harry wished for.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The usual night

The freezing cold storm was clouding in. Each drop of rain was fast that another drop was coming close. The rain was harsh and was like in a hurry; hitting the earth with all might. The street was secluded except for a figure was who running quickly, splashing each puddle on her way. The rain was soaking her fast but it didn't mind her. Her hair was damped but her eyes were shining with blunt determination mixed with depression. Her hands were deep in her pockets; they were cold. Every breath she had was fog coming out. Her eyes were blinking quickly. She stopped running and started to look around. Every house had a light on it, except for one in the end. It was getting quite darker; the grey clouds had already taken over as the sun was bidding goodbye. The figure pulled out her hands and started to sprint before the heavy rain started. She was panting and was freezing. It was like a place where she found herself again. No one was around, wondering out in this weather but she was. Her heart was beating fast. A memory flashed in her mind as its words were hitting her hard.

'_So what if I am? You aren't always around, you know! You are not me! You don't know how I feel! Sometimes I even wonder if you are still there! I even wonder if you love me or are you just staying here since you pity me!' _

Tears were staring to form and she roughly wiped them off.

'You're stupid enough to go here under in this weather. Seeing as your past does say a thing about this, you might as well be insane right now.' She thought to herself.

She slowly made her way on the last house's front door. She smiled and tried to look happy before she knocked.

There was no answer. She knocked again.

'Is he at home?' She asked herself doubtfully.

Sounds of the rain dropping were loud but everything was now silent to her as if she muted the world. She knocked again but this time it was soft and hesitant. It was the only sound she could hear. Silence had yet again answered her knocking. Then, in a roar of thunder, reality crashed down on her. Tears were being produced again in her eyes; her red, tired eyes.

'So he isn't at home. I-I'll come back later' She said softly to herself.

Yet she didn't move. She stood there with her hand raised as if to knock again. She even wore the smile. Then, in a sudden movement, the door opened, revealing a dark haired male. She looked up and jumped into him that soon resulted to making them fell on the floor. Also in a flash, her sadness was changed in happiness.

'Hey' He greeted her as he stood up and closed the door.

'Sorry about jumping on you like that but it had been a while since we have seen each other and I missed you.' She answered as she stood up, unconsciously shaking.

'You must be freezing, why don't you go into the lounge room? The fireplace is lit. I'll go grab some dry clothing for you' He said as he led her to the huge room.

'Thanks.' She said as she sat on the floor that was near to the fire.

Silence had pulled around her again. It had been like months since she saw him yet he looked the same; the way he smiled at her, the way he cared for her and the way he made her feel safe. The crackling of the fire had absorbed her attention and soon, memories from her past were flashing with the colours of brownish-rust in her mind. She was hugging her legs and her chin was on top of it. The fire lightly danced around, glistening with its flame into the room, warming her by flooding the cherished memories in her past and soon, her clothes were drying out.

The male walked back in with dry clothing he found. He smiled at the sight. He had always loved seeing her hair shine brightly on the light's flame. He quietly placed the clothing next to her and went to the kitchen to make some hot tea; she loved drinking tea. He came back for a few minutes and noticed that she neither touched nor noticed the presence of the dry clothing. He sat beside her gently, not making her feel his presence; he watched her eyes blinked calmly and her smile brightened her face. From the time she came in, he felt the sadness in her eyes. It was easy because he seemed to know her _too_ well to be tricked by the gleeful smile she always wore when she was in pain or sadness. The female figure, then, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Like a queue for her to be aware of her surroundings, she spoke; cracking the silent glass wall on them.

'It's warm here.' She mentioned.

He smiled back and handed her a cup of tea in which the female gratefully accepted.

'Yeah, I know that.' He responded as he covered her with a warm cloak.

'Thanks.' She replied back and pulled the cloak closer to herself.

'Can I ask why you are here under in such bright weather?' He asked back sarcastically.

She looked at him but he didn't return the gesture; he was looking deeply in his tea.

'She probably had one of those fights with him again... (Sigh)...How could she stand him when he only brought her suffering?' He thought to himself as he slowly stirred his tea.

'...so I thought I'd drop by so there.' The female answered.

'The same old alibi again... Even I could know you just wanted to be away for awhile. How could you stay with him? He couldn't even make a freaking decent conversation with you that would not last for 10 minutes. How could you say you love him when all he did to you was make you cry and feel bad about yourself? Were you really okay and happy with him? Was that the love you felt for him?' The male pleaded in his thoughts.

A sudden light hit on his arm made him crashed back down into reality. He turned to see the female smiling at her with concern.

'You weren't listening, were you?' She asked in a matter-of-factly voice.

'Sorry, I-I was just thinking.' He responded as he took a sip of his nearly cold tea.

'Hey, is something bothering you?' She asked him.

The female put her hand on his shoulder and shook it gently. The male looked at her and smiled back.

'I'm fine. I just thought about something...but anyways, what were you saying?' He changed the subject along with his low sad tone.

'Well, forget it, okay? How about you? I must have bored you out so how about you talk about what have you been up to?' She asked back, ignoring to answer his question.

'So there was the honesty that broke you out. I was right; you had a huge fight with him and now you were trying hard to cover it. If you only knew how easy it was to read through you, you could have come up with a better lie. To be honest, you were never good at lying and it was always easy to know what you were lying about.' He said roughly to his mind.

'I've been up to nothing. Always at home and did some work. Sometimes, catch a breath in flight. Most of it was boring to talk about anyways.' He answered her question.

'Have you talked to _her_ yet?' She asked.

'There you go, dropping the huge escape bomb to make me talk things out to you. You really are _so_ easy to read.' He said again to his mind.

'Yeah, sometime around free hours. Have you talked to her?' He asked back.

'You know I always talk to Ginny! She visited us couple of times, though mostly in rare occasions.' She answered back.

'Really? I did not know that.' He said, more likely to himself.

Then, silence slightly dropped on them. The male looked away as his thoughts were driving in speed's limit.

'_Rare occasions_, huh? Those might have been the times where you and he were bursting into arguments and she coming in.' He suddenly thought.

He subconsciously reached ruffled his messy black hair that nearly looked like he had never combed them. His round rimmed glasses were changed into a rectangular half framed ones that made him look more..._sharp_. He had muscles though; it was not obvious for he was unusually thin. He had grown more mature and skilled through his life and never had a chance when it was where he had enjoyed it at its fullest. He had been living alone for quite a while now. He worked at home and only gone to his office for any meetings and necessary calls from his head boss. An invisible hand hit him from the back of his head that made him flicked back in reality.

'How's _him?_' He asked or more likely, whispered out.

There was a sharp and short silence before the female answered.

'Well, he's- fine and good, mostly at work, anyways.' She answered in delight.

'_Work_, huh? I wonder when he ever started to like work and put effort on it. He never did when we used to be in school.' He thought back in sarcasm in his mind.

'Oh, really? Then, how was your relationship with him going?' He asked casually.

He would have slapped his head off but he couldn't now because at this moment, it seemed right to ask since she was here, babbling about other things he knew he wouldn't believe. He was not that much of an impatient person but he couldn't seem to rub off the intense feeling of her talking to him with her lies and him thinking about what was beyond the lies she made at the same time. It was a slow growing feeling in his system that was now itching its way to be mentioned and pulled out. He glanced at her and she was silent and solemn again. He slowly took the courage to give her a hug with her head on his shoulder. Her frame was medium and slightly curved. Her hair was now all curly- straight and was not bushy anymore.

'How come your house seemed dark among others?' The female asked.

'Well, because I liked it that way and other houses are occupied by more than one person. That much use of light is too much, just the light in my wand is enough for a guy like me.' He explained.

The female shuffled and let go of the huge as she looked at him in funny and unconvincing way.

'_A guy like you_, you mean "a guy like Harry"?' She asked in her usual matter-of-fact voice.

'Yeah, Hermione, right you are as always, "a guy like me".' He answered back in his proud voice

They laughed then talked about their nostalgic memories of school and early years of fun. Though, the male's explanation of his house being much darker than others was not explained clearly to the female.

_Author's note:_

_please feel free to write reviews or comments..._

_much appreciated,_

_.missing princess._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- the unusual comforting

Before they were laughing and having a little fun, now they were quiet and solemn. Harry had his arms around Hermione who was quietly sobbing on his shoulder. It pained him to see her cry, though. He was like her big brother and was her best friend. Yet beneath that platonic feeling of having a sibling was something deeper than he could have thought.

'Is that all he did?' He asked.

Harry felt a nod but it kind of stopped mid-way. He looked down and noticed that Hermione was (again) fidgeting her fingers. He swore he could have laughed because of that. She looked quite..._cute_ when she did that. It was probably she did not do this often, especially not when everyone's around; she only did this when she was alone with him. He knew the reason behind of her fidgeting yet the impression it brought him seemed to overwhelm him in such delight and happiness. Then, her small voice of response broke this moment he was enjoying.

'He-he...kind of...-'

His ears stopped listening to her small, almost-broken voice. Hearing it made him tighten his arms around her and pulled her closer to him. That was when her response ended with just simple mumble of her breath.

'Can you tell me what happened?' He asked, knowing she might not respond.

A slow nod answered and Harry loosened his hug.

'He...came home from work...late one night-'Her voice started.

'_I was waiting for him, sitting in the couch, thinking of where and what hell he was doing. The clock ticked 2 in the morning when a slow low sound of the front door opening came to my senses. I could see him in the dark, silently tiptoeing to get across the room when I flicked my wand at him.'_

'_Where were you?' I asked with irritation._

'_He looked at me with his face flushed and his lips were red as if he just finished kissing someone. His uniform was all distorted and a mess as small beads of sweat was rolling down on each side of his face.'_

'_Well, I was...out in my office...' He panted._

'_I walked up to him and noticed something in his white collar. It was a red mark. I smudged it with my thumb and it went all blurry.'_

'_How can you explain that?' I asked._

'_He held my hand firmly and he looked at me in the eye directly.'_

'_It was...a game I played...Do you want to play?' He asked me with a hint of pure excitement and seductiveness in his voice._

'_I pulled back my hand but he wouldn't release it as well as his eye contact. There was something beneath his eyes that I couldn't understand; it was something he kept himself.'_

'_Come on, you know you want too' He whispered softly._

'_I gazed back at him with all disgust and with my freehand; I slapped him across the face. He released my hand but he didn't flinch on it. He was looking on sideways and not moving. I held my hands on my chest closely and made few steps backward.'_

'_Don't think of me as dumb! Every Tuesday and Thursday night you came home drunk then every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, you look like this every time you came home at 1 to 2 in the morning. Every weekend, you were always out. It was so easy to know how you tried to hide it so much when it comes out eventually!' I told him loudly as I wrapped my arms around me._

'_I noticed his lips tightened and he looked at me slowly with his eyes brightly shining with frustration, exhaustion and anger.'_

'_Then, if I was that, what about you? Weren't you the one who was almost glued to your bloody office all the time? Weren't you the one who was hardly ever home? It was you and you bloody know it!' He spat out with the hint of fury in his voice._

'_At least, I was not the only one who was stuck up on work, am I?' I asked back._

'_He snorted out a little chuckle and put his hands on his pockets.'_

'_If I knew better, you have another woman. Am I right, Billius?' I used this middle name now and he knew what it meant._

'_Oh...is that so? What about you? You have another guy other than me?' He answered coolly._

'_Is that what you think?! Well, let me explain this to you, Billius! I have work shift for 7 hours plus 3 hours for rounds to check if everything's fine. Then, another 2 hours for briefing, conferences and meetings. I have __**freaking**__ 12 hours of work! And you think I have time to __**freaking**__ flirt around with guys?! You're absurd! You only work for 9 hours! I'd wonder how you could __**not**__ spare time for other women other than me! Adding up to that was when you go home for 1 to 2 in the morning looking like that! If you were smarter, you could have come up with a better lie and much effective plan to hide it!' I shrieked and had let out an irritated scream._

'_So what if I am? You aren't always around, you know! You are not me! You don't know how I feel! Sometimes I even wonder if you are still there! I even wonder if you love me or are you just staying here since you pity me!' He raised his voice now._

'_**Pity**__ you? How could I pity you?' I yelled back as tears were starting to blur my vision._

'_How could you not? You're asking me now? I thought you were smart as you said! You ought to look as dumb as anyone!' He asked out in annoyance._

'_I looked at him with anger and frustration in my system as tears were falling.'_

'_Fine, then I'll leave! This is just not going anywhere.' He said as he went upstairs._

'_Leave? You can't just leave!' I told him as I followed him._

'_How can I not leave? I live here.' He said as we entered the room we share._

'_**We**__ live here!' I told him as I emphasized the word "we"._

'_He didn't listen. He flicked his wand and his trunk was all set.'_

'_You can't run away from this?!' I told him as he reached the front door._

'_That's why I am leaving, because I __**can't**__ run away.' He told me and slammed the door._

'_My heart was beating fast and my knees went cold. Soon, I fell on my knees and was crying out myself.'_

'It had been two day since that...happened.' She told Harry as she cried.

Right now, Harry was full of emotions. He was feeling sad, angry, frustrated and infuriated. He wanted to just strangle _him _but he could not. _He_ was his best friend too. _He_ was Ronald Weasley but _he_ changed and was now different from what _he_ used to be.

He wanted to yell at Hermione for still loving him but he could not. He did not know what to say to her anymore. _He_ had always been the one who used to comfort her about this. _He_ had always been there for her in times like this. That's what _he_ knew how she looked at him. He was also frustrated with himself. No matter how much time and effort Harry spent to comfort and advice for Hermione, she didn't listen. He didn't want to be needed in **only**__times like this.

It was tearing him apart. He didn't know how to react or how to comfort himself since he had always been comforting someone. He was fed up of hearing Hermione's endless crying and Ron's bastard ways but he couldn't just let them suffer. He didn't know much about the reasons of this circle of problems that surrounded him. He was torn apart between what he felt and what he needed to do. It either himself or his friends battling over who was going to suffer the most. It surely was true that Ron would soon contact him and it was either sooner or later but now he was feeling the strong emotions of confusion, anger and infuriation.

'Just let it out, it's much better that way.' He whispered to Hermione who was silently sobbing.

Harry looked at the flame in his fireplace. There was a peaceful silence that dawned on them for awhile. He was rubbing her back and she was feeling relaxed. But the silence was not that peaceful to Harry. His thoughts were running over a mile per minute, his heart beat was going 5 km per hour and his mixed confusion were wrecking him inside. He felt he was going to go crazy in a minute but it didn't show. Suddenly, he used his right hand to slowly rubbed right temple.

'What's wrong?' Hermione asked as she pulled away from the hug and looked at him.

Harry smiled at her.

'It's nothing.' He lied.

It was **not** nothing. His head was starting to ache because of the thoughts that spun around. Yet Harry knew better than to openly tell his problems to anyone. He rubbed it off quickly though, it did not cease the aching.

'Are you sure?' Hermione asked with a curious and sleepy look.

'I'm sure.' He nodded.

Then, Hermione's eyelids felt heavy and soon, she went to a slumber in Harry's arms. Harry sighed quietly and closed his tired eyes for a moment.

'I guess that bastard's damn lucky to have you. I just hope he could have not been that pain to you because it would be nice to see you happy again even if it was not with me.' He mumbled softly.

Harry slowly carried Hermione upstairs to the guest's room. He had two rooms in his house. One was his and the other was for the person who wanted to sleep in or something, (which was really for Hermione). He placed Hermione in bed and covered her with the sheets. He sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Hermione.

'Don't worry, you'll be fine again. I just hope it would be sooner.' He thought to himself again.

He kneeled down and moved closer to Hermione.

'Have a good night, Hermione. Hope you would have sweet dreams.' He whispered to her ear and placed a friendly good night kiss in her forehead before he went to the door. He softly closed it and soon, his telephone rang.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3- the secret

'It's going to be him.' He thought to himself as he went downstairs and picked up the phone.

'Hello?' The voice in the other line asked.

'Yeah, who's this?' Harry asked.

'Ron' His thoughts and the voice in the other said in unison.

'Oh, yeah, I thought you'd call' Harry said as he went to his living room and cleaned up a bit.

'So, Hermione's there, right?' Ron asked; concern was coming in obvious.

Harry put the plates to clean themselves with the flick of his wand as he put Hermione's dried up clothes in his washing machine.

'Yeah, she's here.' Harry answered as he put some detergent and his washing machine started.

'Oh. So, did she tell you?' Ron asked; nervousness was in his voice.

Harry was quiet for a while.

'Should I tell him? He's going to tell me, anyways. Hermione wouldn't even say anything about this either...Oh, well. Here's goes nothing.' He thought and placed the phone on his other ear.

'Tell me what? She came here for a visit and soon got tired so she used the guest room for the time being. I can wake her up, if you want me to.' Harry said as his voice was plastered with lies.

'Oh, no, let her sleep and I'll pick her up in the morning. Thanks again, Harry.' Ron's voice now sounded relieved.

'You had a fight with her, have you?' Harry's voice sounded curious.

'Yeah, it was a big one. I had to have my distance for a while so I left her in the house.' Ron explained.

'Oh. That explained why she rambled about me living alone. Are you going to explain and work it out with her?' Harry asked as he settled down in his couch.

'Yeah, I have to but I'm not sure about her now. Seriously, this fight is huge, Harry. I'm not sure if I can have her back now.' Ron continued.

'You never know, Ron. Maybe she's just _too_ hurt at the moment. Let her cool down and talk things out. I'm sure it will turn out fine. It's not like this was your first ever fight with her.' Harry chuckled.

'Yeah, it was quite funny if we think back in our school days. We always argue over things that was not the matter of such importance.' Ron now chuckled on the other end of the line.

'I think you'll be fine, though. She can get over it. She's Hermione, isn't she? You've been with her so much longer that I get used of hearing you two bicker over silly and stupid things. You two did stand strong. Just give her space and after that, try to talk things out. I'll just wait and see what happens then.' Harry said.

'Thanks, Harry. I'll try to do that and take care of Hermione, okay?' Ron asked in his calm and usual voice.

'Yeah, I will. I'll see you then tomorrow.' Harry stood up and leaned on the wall facing the couch.

'Yeah, bye' Ron said and Harry put the down the phone.

Harry was lightly drumming his fingers on the phone and in a split second he threw it on the couch. He took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose before he place the phone back where it stood and went to his room. He let out a breath and threw himself on his bed. He turned to his desk and noticed the photograph of him and Hermione laughing as Ron was sulking on the background.

'Oh, Hermione, if you could only see what I feel for you but would you choose me? Would that made a change of what was now? Would that cause things to be awkward and different from what we have now?' His thoughts soon raided him with questions.

He rolled back and watched his ceiling.

'I guess this would have been fine. I just hope you'll be able to stay happy because it shatters my happiness in pieces to see you cry... But even if I told you what I felt about you when we were younger, would I stand a chance against him when he caught your heart? I wouldn't, would I? You only see me as a big brother and a best friend and nothing more.' Harry continued to think as he took of his glasses and placed them on the desk.

'If you could have fallen for me, I would swear to always make you happy instead to make you cry. Things could have been a lot different if we ended up together. This house could have been a lot cheerful and light than having it so dark and hollow. I could have wished for all the stars in the night sky to have you with me. I could have been a lot happier if that happened. But this was the reality and I couldn't change it, even if I wanted to because I know you'd be fine with him. Still, I sometimes wished you to be mine yet now; all I could wish for was for you to be happy with him.' Harry pulled the photograph down and soon let himself fell in a plain, grey sleep.


End file.
